Ralph Lauren quietly shuttered its two-year-old 20,000-square-foot store last week. Other brands are expected to close boutiques in a city that has lost its luster for cash-rich mainland Chinese tourists.

NEW NAME: Looks like Dudes Inc. got passed over as the name for Dennis Publishing 2.0. After Quadrangle Group takes over the company, the publisher of Maxim, Stuff and Blender will be known as Alpha Media Group. The self-assured title not only gives the company a more official, corporate-sounding moniker, but also references the term “alpha male” which, according to “Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary,” means “the dominant member in a group of males.” Sources say one of the names suggested early in the process was Maxim Media, reflecting the company’s biggest magazine in its stable, but that was quickly shot down. Quadrangle is expected to finalize the acquisition the second week in August. — Stephanie D. Smith

MISSING THE TARGET: Star may have more problems. Sources close to the magazine say the title will not make its 1.5 million rate base for the first half of this year, and is considering another rate-base reduction, to around 1.2 million, for next year. This winter, Star sold between 600,000 to 800,000 newsstand copies a week, but since editor in chief Candace Trunzo took over the title in April, sales have hovered in the 600,000 range, according to sources familiar with scan data. American Media Inc. in April said Star would lower its rate base to 1.35 million for the second half of the year, but if sales maintain their current range, the title could miss the lowered circulation guarantee. Sales of celebrity titles tend to pick up in the summer and decline in the fall as folks spend more time in the office or at school, which means single-copy sales — accounting for half of Star’s circulation — could fall below 600,000 over the course of the next six months.

Meanwhile, the New York Post on Friday said billionaire Ron Burkle is continuing talks with AMI to acquire the company. Sources close to the deal say Burkle and AMI chief executive officer David Pecker are in deep negotiations, and a deal could be done as soon as the end of next month. A spokesperson for AMI did not respond to questions by deadline. — S.D.S.

STYLISH LIST: Apparently a spot on a Condé Nast masthead ups your odds of making Vanity Fair’s Best Dressed List. This September, a number of Condé Nasters make the cut, including some from VF’s own masthead. Fashion and style director Michael Roberts, Vanity Fair contributing editor Lisa Eisner and photographer at large Jonathan Becker appear, as do Mitch Glazer, Hollywood producer and close friend of Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, and his wife, actress Kelly Lynch. Glazer is editing the magazine for Condé Nast Media Group’s latest brand extension, “Movies Rock.” Corporate cousin Vogue is also well represented, with Teen Vogue editor in chief Amy Astley; Vogue style director Alexandra Kotur; Marina Rust Connor, Vogue contributing editor, and Bee Shaffer, daughter of Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. (Of note: Shaffer does not list her mother as a fashion icon in her blurb — instead opting for Joan Didion, Irving Penn and her sister-in-law, Kathryn Neale, but she does admit to borrowing her mother’s sunglasses.)

The list also recognizes fashionable couples David and Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Ruben and Isabel Toledo. Why name them to the list? “Because they’re Manhattan’s Latins,” says the magazine. (They and nearly half a million others, according to the 2000 New York Census.)

One of those “Latins,” Gisele Bündchen, is on Vanity Fair’s September cover. The leggy Brazilian was shot by Mario Testino, who, along with Roberts, also produced a Brazilian photo feature inside. — S.D.S.

W APPOINTMENT:Brooke Magnaghi has been promoted to accessories and jewelry market director of W magazine, overseeing all jewelry coverage and assuming responsibility for the magazine’s accessories coverage following the departures from the company of Alison Burwell, formerly jewelry news editor, and Meggan Crum, its previous accessories director. Magnaghi had been W’s jewelry fashion editor.

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@rebeccaminkoff is bringing self-checkout to high fashion: The brand has partnered with @queuehop to bring its customers self-checkout options, beginning this holiday season at its SoHo store. (📷: @aurorarosephoto)